The number of people in Japan aged 100 or older has climbed to a record 99,763, the health ministry announced, marking the 55th consecutive year of growth.
Women make up an overwhelming 88% of the total.
Japan, which has the world’s longest life expectancy, is also one of the fastest-ageing societies. Its residents enjoy a healthy diet but face a low birth rate.
The country is frequently home to the world’s oldest living person — though some researchers question the accuracy of global centenarian counts.
The oldest person in Japan is 114-year-old Shigeko Kagawa from Yamatokoriyama, near Nara, while the oldest man is 111-year-old Kiyotaka Mizuno from Iwata.
Health minister Takamaro Fukoka congratulated the 87,784 women and 11,979 men aged 100 and above, expressing his “gratitude for their many years of contributions to the development of society.”
The figures come just ahead of Japan’s Elderly Day on September 15, when new centenarians receive a congratulatory letter and silver cup from the prime minister. This year, 52,310 individuals qualified, according to the ministry.
When Japan first began its centenarian survey in 1963, just 153 people were aged 100 or older. That number hit 1,000 in 1981 and reached 10,000 by 1998. Today’s figures reflect rising life expectancy, largely attributed to lower rates of heart disease and common cancers, as well as diets low in red meat and high in fish and vegetables.
Public health campaigns have also encouraged reduced salt consumption, countering global trends toward higher sugar and salt intake. Coupled with low obesity rates — particularly among women — and an active lifestyle that includes walking, public transport use, and community exercise like the long-running Radio Taiso routine, Japan has created a culture of healthy ageing.
Still, the reliability of centenarian counts has faced scrutiny. A 2010 government audit found over 230,000 people listed as 100 or older who could not be accounted for, with some discovered to have died decades earlier. The review was prompted when the remains of Sogen Koto, thought to be Tokyo’s oldest man at 111, were found 32 years after his death.
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